Precinct 13 [Paperback]

Tate Hallaway (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 7, 2012

Recent college grad Alex Conner is thrilled to have landed a job as the Hughes County coroner/medical examiner in Pierre, South Dakota. But when her first day on the job ends with a missing corpse, Alex starts to wonder if she would have been better off collecting unemployment...

When the cops made some cryptic comments about being careful with the body they brought in, Alex just thought the boys in blue were messing with her. That is, until something freaky happens that no amount of med school could have prepared her for. By the time Alex gets herself together, the body has disappeared and the other residents of the morgue start talking her ear off.

After working up the courage to report the missing body, Alex is transferred to the mysterious Precinct 13 where she discovers that her new co-workers—including a cute technomage named Jack—are paranormals just like her. Now, Alex is being encouraged to use her ability to speak to the dead to solve crimes. And despite being in the middle of nowhere, Hughes County sure does have a lot of paranormal activity…

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Tate Hallaway has a wonderful gift."

About the Author

Tate Hallaway lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is also the author of the Vampire Princess novels.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade; 1 edition (August 7, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425247791
• ISBN-13: 978-0425247792
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #352,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A Scorpio with a Leo Rising, Tate Hallaway is an amateur astrologer and practicing Witch. Tate has been a fan of vampire fiction since she first read Poppy Z. Brite in high school. Her first short fiction acceptance was to a vampire 'zine called Nocturnal Ecstasy Vampire Coven. Tate lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota with three black cats. TALL, DARK, AND DEAD is Tate's first novel.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great series opener August 7, 2012

By A Book Obsession.. TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

Through a funny set of circumstances, Alex Conner finds herself in a new job as the Hughes County Coroner. Considering there hasn't been any murders in the area for over two years, Alex thinks she's in for an easy paycheck. But those ideals quickly go out the window when a corpse comes in with a cryptic warning about magic. With Alex's troubled past involving magic and the psychiatric ward, she thinks she's become the brunt of a nasty joke, at least that is until some very strange things happen ending with the corpse getting up and walking away. Her chief sends her straight to Precinct 13 where she learns that magic and paranormals exist after all, and she may just be one of them.

I was really impressed with Tate Hallaway's world building in Precinct 13. There was a plethora of supernatural characters that should have been overwhelming, but weren't due to the way things were handled. Each new element was introduced to Alex, and due to her acceptance were easily taken in stride as it they were directly tied into whatever she was currently facing. There wasn't a single info-dump, which was rather impressive considering the very large amount of things that needed to be covered in such a short amount of time. In fact the entire story was paced very well with no dull or slow moments keeping me sucked in the entire time.

I really loved the characters in this book, Alex most of all. She is incredibly tough and doesn't take nonsense from anyone. Most people would have collapsed long ago under the extreme stress of being told she was literally crazy for seeing and believing in magic. All the years of therapy and anti psychotics definitely took a toll, but she came out the other side much stronger. In fact when she learns that magic is real, she only protests for a short while before accepting it and getting down to business with her case. This is where she really shines as her drive and determination make for the perfect investigator. As far as the rest of the characters go, each one stood out, being well developed and fully realized. The many different personalities at the Precinct made for a very interesting rag tag team, that only furthered my enjoyment of the book as I watched the dynamics between them play out. However, aside from Alex, one character really stood out. There was just something so mysterious and rather yummy about Valentine, that I loved him from the moment he arrived, and the reveals centering around him only made me love him even more. Take my word for it, he is awesome!

I really enjoyed Precinct 13 and felt it was a great opener to this new series. Everything from the characters to the incredible world felt fresh and unique making Precinct 13 a stand out in the Urban Fantasy genre. This is one new series you won't want to miss!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Wanted to love PRECINCT 13 and I only liked it August 9, 2012

By Urban Fantasy Investigations

Format:Paperback

Alex is nominated to be the Hughes County Coroner on a dare. She hasn't had a crazy life so far so when her very first day on the job a corpse gets up and walks away she isn't quite sure how crazy she actually is.

Alex had a great personality and was fun to read about. There was a lot of times where Alex mentioned her past or a past event but they were only hinted at or slightly mentioned and it would have been nice to know the details of stuff that affected her so much. I felt like I missed a book or short story or something along those lines a lot during the book. I really liked Precinct 13 and the way they operated. There was a lot of mystery involved in the plot while Alex and Precinct 13 were investigating and I never felt like I knew who the bad guy was or had a grasp on the the exact situation they were in which is always nice. The romance between Alex and Valentine was just ehhh. There wasn't much in the way of explanation about him or his and Alex's past. Alex hints about him then all of a sudden he jumps in and is there. He remains mysterious for most of the book with only a little revealed about him, some big things are revealed but again it felt like I missed something.

It pains me to say this but I really wanted to love PRECINCT 13 and I only liked it. There is some decent groundwork for a series and I did like Alex and her coworkers so I will probably read a second book if one comes out, but I would probably borrow it from the library.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Something for everyone September 11, 2012

By kitty kat

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Slow and steady, that's the way the story moves. It's middle of the road...no huge action scenes, no slow and boring parts, just a one foot in front of the other progression from beginning to end. There are zombies, fairies, golems, practitioners, cops, bad guys, dead cows, very smart birds, romance, crazy siblings a snake tattoo and a dragon, so there is something for everyone. It all takes place in a small town where magic is accepted and partially hidden from the public. The magic is sometimes subtle and sometimes not so subtle. Alex, coroner/investigator and possible witch, moves to South Dakota to escape her crazy past (pun intended). She has spent years trying to convince herself that magic isn't real and that her stepmother isn't really a demon. We, the readers, know that she is wrong, of course, and the story takes off from there. She is delighted (and who can blame her), to find that she never was crazy and that magic truly IS real. Her life gets better from there. I actually liked the book but it's (yawn) not gripping or exciting, yet it held my interest. It's like hanging out with someone you have a nice time with but you're home by ten o'clock having cereal in your p.j.s, with your cat in your lap, channel surfing and waiting to get tired enough to go to bed. The spark that sets things on fire is missing. Hard to explain. Think tasty but lukewarm coffee or hot chocolate. It's good but it's just not hot enough.